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Office Essentials has done its homework.
The St. Louis, MO-based business products and furniture company has specialized in equipping organizations with the supplies and furniture they need to operate and grow since 2001. But as learning environments everywhere began to shift and evolve, the company doubled down on its efforts to make K-12 learning spaces more effective for the students, teachers, administrators, and staff who depend on them.
“Today’s classrooms have grown beyond basic desks and standard seating,” said Anne Farrow, Manager of the Education Division at Office Essentials. “Flexibility and inclusive comfort have replaced those traditional, one-size-fits-all spaces. Our partnership with HON has encouraged us to think creatively and focus on how we can contribute to enduring student and teacher success.”
The first important step for Office Essentials to foster meaningful involvement was to engage an expert. Dr. Robert Dillon, a national and local education influencer and co-founder of ConnectED, was an ideal choice. Since 2023, he’s been an Office Essentials’ consultant and travels to various school districts throughout Missouri to educate curriculum leaders on how to optimize their learning spaces with the right furniture solutions and environments.
Through workshops like “Envisioning New Learning Spaces,” “Experiential Learning Design,” and “Designing Brain Friendly Learning Spaces,” Dillon helps principals and superintendents rethink how their classrooms are impacting students and teachers.
Office Essentials offers this service free of charge to the schools he visits.
“Dr. Dillon has more than 20 years’ experience as an educator, principal, and technology director,” said Farrow. “Bringing him on as a consultant has buoyed our mission to foster community growth and elevates our involvement on a grassroots level.”
For Office Essentials, last year’s education kick-off involved something out of the ordinary: A chance for a school in need to win a $50,000 classroom makeover.
“Our goal was to create a learning environment that reflected the needs of the students and teacher using the space. Many classrooms are still operating with dated, uncomfortable furniture that’s not particularly conducive to engagement or connection,” said Farrow. “This contest was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give a teacher and students a classroom they deserved without the constraints of a budget.”
After considering more than 50 worthy entries, members of Office Essentials’ Furniture and Design Team, HON, and Dr. Dillon chose Bayless High School’s ELL (English Language Learner) space as the $50,000 Classroom Makeover Contest winner. English Language Teacher Tiffany Maloney entered the contest in hopes of creating a comfortable, warm environment for her students, many of whom come from war-torn countries fraught with trauma and loss. By adding a variety of adaptable, flexible, multipurpose HON furniture designed to work in any type of learning environment, Maloney’s classroom was transformed into the space she always wanted for her students.
Featured Products: Tangram™ Soft Seating (Left) and Birk™ Table with SmartLink® Stools (Right)
“I wanted them to have a place where they could feel safe and comfortable and excited about learning,” said Maloney. “One of the students said this feels more like a home than a school. I think they’ll be happy.”
It wasn’t just a win for the school—the contest left an indelible mark on the Office Essentials team, too.
“Seeing the students enter the space for the first time was incredible,” said Farrow. “With contracts and installations, it’s easy for a dealership to just move on, but witnessing how this new environment immediately changed student outlooks and attitudes was hugely rewarding for us.”
Featured Products: Class-ifi™ Bookcases (Left) and Build™ Table, Flock® Minis, and Brigade® Laterals (Right)
Office Essentials has always been steadfastly committed to the communities they serve. With an outreach team of employees to identify ways to give back and their trusted partnership with HON, Farrow has no doubts that organizations in need of innovative spaces will continue to develop and evolve.
“We’ve absolutely opened up the conversation about what our dealership is doing within our communities—how we are selling, how we are helping, how we are connecting,” said Farrow. “Elevating our partnership with HON has opened the door to conversations about how we transform the meaning of customer consultation and community connection.”
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